DiPatri ‘really proud’ of 13-year run as Wildwood Catholic coach

Posted: June 8th 2026

Steve DiPatri, who has resigned as the girls basketball coach at Wildwood Catholic, during a ceremony following his 600th career victory last December.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Wildwood Catholic Academy is in the midst of a search for a new head girls basketball coach.

Steve DiPatri, who led the Crusader program to great heights over 13 seasons as coach after first spending 16 seasons as the head girls basketball coach at now-closed Sacred Heart in Vineland, stepped away from the position recently.

DiPatri, the winningest high school girls basketball coach in Cape-Atlantic League history, turned Wildwood Catholic into one of South Jersey’s most accomplished programs. 

DiPatri is 618-167 in 29 seasons overall. He led Sacred Heart to state championships in 2003 and 2005 and the CAL title in 2012. He landed at Wildwood Catholic at the start of the 2013-14 season after Sacred Heart closed in June 2013 due to low enrollment. He posted 266 wins at Wildwood Catholic, where he took the program to four CAL title games and two South Jersey Non-Public B championship games.

“I remember back to that first meeting with the administration at Wildwood Catholic in 2013 and they wondered how much we could get the girls to commit and I feel like we succeeded in that,” DiPatri said. “I’m really proud of our consistency, the team culture we built and just how we were so visible in every CAL season and in the South Jersey rankings. And then I look back on how many of our kids made it to the next level and became better people and I’d like to think that’s a byproduct of being part of our program.”

DiPatri guided the program to at least 20 victories in 11 of his 13 seasons in charge. One of those two non-20-win seasons came during the 2021 season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DiPatri did some of his best work as a head coach last season. With a roster that featured just nine players and was without the services of one of South Jersey’s best point guards in Lola McGonigle due to injury, Wildwood Catholic was still one of the top teams in the CAL and South Jersey. The Crusaders finished 20-9 and appeared in the CAL title game for the third time in five seasons. Senior Lily King and sophomores Dani Daley and Damiya Carter emerged as three of the top players in the CAL. King is set to play college basketball at Division II East Stroudsburg University, while Daley and Carter have each drawn the attention of numerous college coaches. Carter has already received a few Division I offers.

DiPatri said last season was one of his most rewarding as a coach. 

“I definitely think so because I felt as if we overachieved,” he said. “We had a lot of big wins and a lot of close wins last year. I’m proud of that. It was a very rewarding season from that perspective, for sure.”

Coaching at Wildwood Catholic was a major commitment for DiPatri, who works full-time as an administrator in the Bridgeton Public School District. A resident of Vineland, he endured long travel each day during basketball season to and from Wildwood Catholic in North Wildwood.

“I’m at a point in my life where I felt it was time for me to consider doing something else,” DiPatri said. “It hit home during the CAL playoffs last season when my car broke down three different times. I started to think about the travel I had to be committed to going back and forth to Wildwood every day. It was probably 12 to 14 extra hours a week just being in my car during the season. It started making me think about other options.”

Wildwood Catholic athletic director Christina Wingate said the school is “actively moving to fill the head coach position as soon as possible.”

The school released a statement about DiPatri’s resignation last week that read in part:

“Wildwood Catholic Academy proudly thanks Coach Steve DiPatri for his dedication and leadership of the girls basketball program since 2013. For the past 13 years, Coach DiPatri has served as a mentor and role model to countless student-athletes while helping build one of the premier girls basketball programs in South Jersey. His commitment to excellence, sportsmanship, and teamwork has had a lasting impact on Wildwood Catholic Academy and the many young women who have worn the Crusader uniform. 

“While his accomplishments on the court are impressive, Coach DiPatri's greatest legacy is the positive influence he has had on generations of student-athletes. Through his leadership, dedication, and passion for the game, he has helped shape the lives of countless young women and strengthened the proud tradition of Crusader basketball. 

“The entire Wildwood Catholic Academy community extends its sincere gratitude to Coach DiPatri for his years of service, leadership, and commitment to our students and athletic program.”

DiPatri said he’ll always root for Wildwood Catholic.

“I only wish Wildwood Catholic the best,” he said. “Hopefully, they can continue the success we’ve had the last 13 years and it’s my hope that they grow beyond that success and improve upon that success.”

As a proven, highly successful coach, there’s no doubt DiPatri will have opportunities to coach again.

“I know there are things out there for me,” he said. “They may or may not be basketball options but even just life options. … The future should take care of itself. If there are opportunities out there, I’ll have to see if I want to choose to pursue them.”